


The Grand Kingdom

by Avlaske



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Knights, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 11:37:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7975447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avlaske/pseuds/Avlaske
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's just a matter of time before Clint's going to be knighted by King Stark.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Grand Kingdom

Ever since Clint was a kid, he'd always wanted to be one of the knights working for the King. To join them for thousands of great battles and be known and recognized as the best of the best.  
  
He'd taken up hand to hand combat, acrobatic, and some fencing, but his strength always laid with archery. He had an eye for throwing projectiles with extreme speed and accuracy, and able to calculate their outcome. For that reason, he worked best with bow and arrows.  
  
Unfortuantely, he came from a very poor village far away from the kingdom. In fact, it was so far that hardly anyone has ever heard of it. Very few people travelled far or lived far from the kingdom because they wouldn't be able to receive the provisions.  
  
Here, the the soil was bare and it was hard to plant vegetation. The closest stream was a kilometre away, and the houses were made of straw.  
  
But it was still home.  
  
He'd lived there all his life. Through the abuse of his father, always angry about the lack of food and having procreated a son who was deaf, and his mother, always gentle but too scared to speak up. They'd both pass when he was nine, left with an older brother, Barney, who cared for him but still thought of him as a nuisance.  
  
At the age of thirteen, he learned to pick up the fighting skills and archery from a group of mercenaries that stopped by. They were kind enough to give him and his brother some food and told them grand stories about the kingdom and the luxuries offered if they were able to become the King's knights, and later offered them a place with their group. Clint was hesitant to go and was then abandoned by Barney, who joined the mercenaries and left before the next sunrise while Clint was still asleep. He trained by himself for years after that, honing the skills he'd pick up from the mercenaries.  
  
It was finally at the age of twenty-one that he's decided it was time to leave the village behind and to finally work towards his dream. He packed a small carry bag with a couple of shirts and one pair of pants and he was on his way.  
  
He travelled for forty-five days on foot, passing through small forests and villages, and crossing long lakes with borrowed boats. He didn't have the coins to buy a horse. Instead, he worked small jobs through passing villages in exchange for food for the journey. Water was easy to come by since there were many small streams, and he always had a boda bag on him for refilling.  
  
By the time he'd reach the large double gates of the kingdom, his legs were exhausted.  
  
"Oh fuck, it's so much bigger than I thought!" He was just about to march inside when there was a spear shoved into his face, nearly nicking his cheek. "Holy S-"  
  
"Halt! Where are your documents?" His eyes follow the spear down to the guard, wearing a silver helm and metal armor, and scrunches his eyebrows.  
  
"Wait, what? What do you mean documents?"  
  
"Do you not have any documents? We require them in order to grant you entrance."  
  
In all the tales he's heard about the kingdom, he's never heard anything about needing papers to enter the kingdom. He must have looked very confused because the guard sighs and shakes his head.  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
Clint hesitates, unsure of the answer the guard was looking for, says "I'm looking to become a knight..?"  
  
The guard gives him a suspicious look. "Who recommended you? Where's your recommendation letter?"  
  
Clint's definitely panicking at this point. He didn't know he needed any of that.  
  
"Look man, I come from a village way far from here. Like, super far. I walked for like months to get here, okay? I didn't know I needed some letter to join. I mean, who even cares about some letter? I got the skills. I can even show them to you!"  
  
So he might be getting a little loud, and by now there were a line of people waiting behind him to enter the kingdom.  
  
"Can you please give me an exception? I'm not here to cause trouble, I just really want to be a knight. It's all I ever wanted since I was a kid, promise!"  
  
There were more guards coming to join the first one, and they're all giving him looks of disbelief and irritation. He didn't even care that he was acting shamefully. At this point, he was even willing to drop to his knees and beg. He didn't walk all the way out here just to walk back. No way was Clint Barton walking back with his tail between his legs.  
  
"Look kid-"  
  
"I'm not even a kid. I'm an adult and I want to become a part of the king's knights!"  
  
"Listen here, not just anyone can become a knight. You think we all don't want that? Give us a break and go home already."  
  
"Well, test me then!" Clint insisted. He was practically red in the face.  
  
"You-"  
  
"What's going on here!" And complete silence fell over the guards. As one, they all turned to the newcomer.  
  
"Good afternoon, sir!" They all chanted at once, head bowed and hand raised over their chest in a salute.  
  
This 'sir' was big. And tall. And had very broad shoulders and a sharp jaw line. His blue eyes were narrowed into slits as he inspected the scenery. When his eyes finally landed on Clint, he nearly fidgeted in place. This guy's gaze was very intense. And it was also uncomfortable, but Clint didn't back down. He raised his chin and met his stare dead on.  
  
"Captain Rogers, this man wanted entrance to the Kingdom but he doesn't have any papers on him," reported the first guard he was speaking to previously.  
  
Clint protested. "I didn't know I needed papers. No one told me! I just want to become a knight." He crossed his arms and nearly pouted. There were so many stupid rules. The village was never this complicated.  
  
The Captain didn't look impressed. "You want to become a knight?"  
  
And there was that tone that Clint hated. The tone that meant he didn't believe Clint could make it. Sure he wasn't the tallest guy around, standing at five foot seven, but he had enough muscles to make up for it. And he was a hard worker.  
  
"Yeah, you got a problem with that?"  
He really did need to work on his mouth though. It was always saying stupid things. Who even tries to sass the guy who was obviously important, especially considering his title.  
  
Fortunately, he didn't get his ass kicked from the kingdom. Rogers threw his head back and laughed. "I like you, kid. What's your name?"  
  
"Uh, Clint Barton," he says, and after a second, adds "sir."  
  
"Well, Mister Barton, perhaps I'll be seeing you in training." Rogers turns his head and tells the guards to let him in. "If he causes any trouble, it'll be on me. Don't worry about the King, not that I think he'll make a fuss." He departs after throwing Clint a little quirk of a smile.  
  
Everything proceeded smoothly after that. He got himself registered into the list of prospective knights while grinning widely at the disgruntled guards. He even managed to find some lodging, provided he help out with the heavy lifting for shipment. All in all, he'd finally got his foot in.

 


End file.
